Hate that I love you
by nikitommo
Summary: Kori is a new 16 year old student at Jump City High. She takes a liking to most of the people there, except for Richard Grayson. Ever since they met he has been a stuck up and rude person to her. But when they are forced to work and spend time together for a project, Kori fears she may fall for him. Not to mention, Richard has a girlfriend. RobinXStarfire
1. Jump City

**A/N Hi everyone! This isn't my first fanfic, but it is my first one on this account. This chapter is going to be pretty short, but the next one will be longer. ((: please review.**

**Kori Anders-Starfire**

**Richard 'Dick' Grayson-Robin**

**Victor 'Vic' Stone- Cyborg**

**Garfield 'Gar' Logan- Beast Boy**

**Rachel Roth – Raven**

**Karen Beecher- Bumblebee**

**Barbara Gordon-Batgirl**

**Xavier Red- Red X**

**Koma Anders- Blackfire**

**Chapter 1-Jump City**

* * *

I feel the sun shining through my curtains and lightly heating my skin. Shortly after, I hear my alarm ringing. My hand shuffles lazily to search for it, once I feel it I press the off button. My eyes flutter open and I yawn deeply. I stretch my limbs and finally get out of my bed. I walk sluggishly to my bathroom and turn the shower on. Once the hot water hits my face, I wake up more. After my shower, I search my closet to find something to wear. I decide to wear my white sweater, dark skinny jeans and black flats. I put on some makeup, curl my dark red hair a bit so it's in light waves and get dressed. I run downstairs and see my mother and sister eating breakfast. My mother greets me with a warming smile.

"Good morning Kori." She says.

"Morning mother. Hi Koma." I reply to my mother and sister.

Koma replies with a grunt and I shrug my shoulders. Although I love Koma, she's never cared much for me. I never really knew why, but I don't bother to talk to her about it. I have to admit I'm a little intimidated by my older sister. She just turned 18 a month ago and I'm still only 16.

I grab my black satchel bag and start walking towards the door.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" My mother asks.

"Eh, not very hungry. I just want to get to school." I reply.

Koma gets up from the table and walks outside. I walk over to my mother and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye mother." I say sweetly.

"Have a good day my little bumgorf." She says like always. "I know you're a little nervous about going to a new school, but all the kids will like you."

I give her a small smile. "Yeah, I guess."

I walk outside and see Koma is already in her car waiting for me. I get in her car.

"Thanks again for giving me a ride Koma." I say to her.

"Whatever." She says briskly.

Koma begins driving and a silence overwhelms us.

"So, have you found any universities you want to attend?" I ask politely.

She shrugs her shoulders. "Not really. I don't even wanna go back to school. I'm so happy I graduated last year in Tameran. I don't want to socialize with these Jump City people. Besides, I have a job and a boyfriend who makes plenty of money for me to live." She says with a smirk.

I frown a little. "You know Jamie is a good guy, you shouldn't use him for his money."

Koma rolls her eyes. "Hey, I do like Jamie. I can't help that he has a lot of money."

Typical thing for my sister to say. I shake my head at her and shortly after, we arrive at my new school. I see tons of people and feel scared already.

"Bye Kori." Komi says.

"Bye Koma." I reply. I get out of her car and I am now standing in front of Jump City High.

* * *

**There's chapter 1 and it's a little boring, but it will get better. But I have written up to chapter 10 so I'll probably post a couple of the chapters here soon. Let me know what you know think. ((:**


	2. Some new friends

**A/N Here's chapter 2 :D**

**Chapter 2-Some new friends**

* * *

I walk into the school and go straight to the office. I tell them my name and that I need my schedule and they quickly give it to me. I look over my schedule.

**Social Studies**

**English**

**Art**

**Lunch**

**Math**

**Science**

**Gym**

**Journalism**

My classes seemed okay. The only one I really cared about was Journalism. I've always wanted to do something with writing. I love writing stories and writing about anything. It should be my best class.

I had some trouble looking for my first class. I never got a proper tour of this school and it's a huge place. I got to my social studies class just in time. Of course, everyone gave me stares and I felt a little awkward. The teacher welcomed me and told me to sit in the empty seat in the very back. I sat down next down to a very big guy; I'm assuming he's a football player. He immediately smiled at me and reached his hand out to me. I shook it and smiled at him.

"Hey there little lady. What's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Kori, what's your name?" I asked him.

"Vic. You're new to this school aren't you?" He said.

I shyly shook my head.

He smiled and nudged my shoulder. "Don't worry, I can show you around."

My face immediately brightened. "Oh that would be most wonderful!"

Vic chuckled at me. "No problem."

* * *

For the duration of class, we just did some book work and my teacher handed me some papers to take home to my mother. The bell finally rang and it was time for English. Vic walked me to my class and I didn't really meet anyone there. Next was art. The teacher told me to sit at a table with this boy and girl.

I sat at their table and noticed the boy had a very odd looking skin color and green spiky hair. He was the first to speak.

"Hey there! I'm Gar and this is Rae." He said pointing to the very reserved girl next to him. She had fair skin and shoulder length purple hair, with her eye color to match it.

She scowled at Gar. "Don't call me Rae." She looked at me. "It's Rachel."

I smiled at her. "Nice to meet you Rachel and Gar."

I noticed Rachel's art work. It was very dark and gloomy, but really impressive.

I marveled at her paper. "Wow, that's beautiful."

She gave me a small smile. "Thanks."

"What about mine! It's pretty awesome too!" Gar whined.

I looked at his paper and it was a very childish drawing of some animals.

But I still gave him a smile and complimented it, which made him happy. Gar and Rachel were very friendly to me, although Rachel is very shy. They invited me to sit at their lunch table and I couldn't decline.

* * *

As we walked to their lunch table, I saw one familiar face; Vic. He was sitting with a girl with beautiful curly dark hair and eyes. I'm supposing it's his girlfriend.

"Hey Kori!" He greeted. "This is my girlfriend, Karen." He gestured to the girls next to him. I was right.

We shook hands. "Nice to meet you Karen." I said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you to Kori." She said sweetly.

I smiled and sat next to Rachel. She even shared some of her food with me.

"Yo, where's Dick?" Vic said with his mouth stuffed.

Gar shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. Probably with Babs."

I got a little confused. "Who is he?" I asked them.

Karen chuckled. "Dick Grayson is the son of Bruce Wayne. Rich, handsome, and a playboy; Currently dating Barbara Gordon."

I still felt confused. "Who is Bruce Wayne?"

Everyone looked at me with wide eyes.

"Duuude, you don't know who Bruce Wayne is?" Gar asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I just moved here from an island called Tameran. It's very far away and I really don't know anything or anyone here."

Vic smiled. "Well Bruce Wayne owns Wayne Enterprises. He's insanely rich and important. Bruce adopted Dick when his parents died a while ago and Dick is supposed to be a part of his business when he's older."

"Yeah, Dick is like the most popular guy here, but he's one of our best friends. I bet he'll like you." Gar said.

I smiled and nodded my head. We continued eating our food.

"Oh there's playboy!" Vic shouted.

I turned around and saw Dick Grayson for the first time.

* * *

**A/N I'll post chapter 3 if I get any reviews on the first two chapters (:**


	3. Playboy

**A/N Please review((:**

**Chapter 3-Playboy**

* * *

I was surprised with the feeling I got when I saw Dick. He was attractive. Tall, black spiky hair, good body, and his sunglasses were lowered enough so that I could see he had piercing blue eyes. I quickly turned back around so that it didn't seem like I was staring at him. Luckily, he didn't notice. Dick sat down next to Vic and finally looked at me. I felt a little shy.

Vic put his hand on Dick's shoulder. "Dick, this is our new friend, Kori."

Dick extended his hand to me and I shook it.

"Hey." He said coolly.

"Hello." I replied.

"Dick, Kori is so cool and foreign!" Gar said keenly.

Dick nodded. "Where you from?"

"Tameran, it's an island." I said.

"Do all people from Tameran have that nice skin color?" Rachel said complimenting my bronze skin tone.

I smiled. "Everyone there is pretty tan, yes."

"Do they all have super green eyes and bright red hair?" Gar asked.

I giggled. "Well most of them, but my sister has lavender eyes and black hair."

"Whoa, I have got to meet your sister. "Gar said while wiggling his ears.

I smirked. "Nice try, but she has a boyfriend. Plus she's 18."

Gar slumped his shoulders. "Always the older women."

I chuckled at Gar. Dick kind of ignored me for the rest of lunch time, but I didn't let it bother me. Finally the bell rang and it was time for math. When I got to class, my teacher told me to sit behind a girl named Barbara. I looked at Barbara and thought, _'Barbara Gordon?' _

She had baby blue eyes, auburn hair, almost like mine. I took my seat behind her, but she didn't really acknowledge me. Finally after 20 minutes, she turned around.

"Kori Anders? Hi, I'm Barbara Gordon." She said with smile.

'_It is her.'_

"Hi Barbara." I greeted.

"If you ever need help, you can ask me." She said politely.

"Thank you." I smiled at her.

She nodded her head and turned back around.

While I was working on my assignment, I noticed everyone in the class was talking to Barbara. She must be very popular like Dick. The two most popular and good looking people dating, not surprised.

* * *

My next class was science and I didn't have anyone to talk to there. After that, was gym. When I entered the gym I saw Karen and felt relived. She saw me and ran over to me.

"Kori!" She shouted and hugged me.

I hugged her back. "Thank goodness I have a class with you." I said.

Karen walked me over to the teacher. He told me what I needed to know. He gave me a white T-shirt with the school logo on it and black shorts. I changed in the locker room and sat with Karen in the bleachers. Luckily it was a free day, so we didn't really have to do anything. Karen told me a lot about the school and the people. We also talked about my life back in Tameran. But there was something else I was dying to talk to her about.

"So, what do you know about Barbara?" I asked her.

"Barbara? Honestly, I don't really care for her. She's pretty rude and spoiled. I don't really like that Dick is dating her."

I felt my eyes widen a little. "Really? Is that why she doesn't sit at your lunch table?"

"Well yeah, none of us really like her. Dick knows that. They've been dating for a couple months, but they've known each other for a long time."

"Oh…" My voice trailed off.

Karen smirked at me. "Are you jealous?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "No, I don't even know Dick."

Karen laughed. "But you know he's hot and I noticed him eyeing you too."

"What? You're crazy. He's not my type anyways. He's seems…stuck up." I said defensively.

Karen smiled. "Well, I think you're better for him than Barbara. But I guess you'll meet someone else."

I shrugged my shoulders.

* * *

Finally it was time for journalism. I couldn't help, but feel excited. When I walked into class, I saw Dick there. He didn't see me until the teacher called his name.

"Dick, raise your hand, so Kori can sit next to you." The teacher said.

I shyly walked to my seat and sat down.

"Hi Dick." I say politely.

Dick looks at me and gives a small wave.

I feel a little disappointed. He didn't exactly give me the best greeting.

"Hey cutie." A smooth voice said.

I looked next to me and saw a guy almost similar to Dick; except he has dark eyes.

I smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Kori."

He bit his lip. "I'm Xavier."

"Of course. Xavier Red and new girl." Dick said crossly.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the name he gave me: new girl. I despised that. It's like he doesn't have respect for me.

Xavier scoffed. "Whatever Grayson."

Dick's eyes narrowed at him and Xavier smirked at him. Sitting in between them made me feel uncomfortable and I felt myself slowly sliding down in my chair.

Xavier noticed my uneasiness and put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about Grayson. He's an idiot."

I gave him a small smile. Xavier seemed sweet, even though he and Dick seem to be very bitter towards each other.

For the rest of the class, I decided not to worry about some boys. I just focused on what I loved to do; writing.


	4. Arrogant boy

**Please review!**

**Chapter 4-Arrogant boy**

* * *

I've been going to Jump City High for about three weeks now. Nothing much has happened. I go to my classes, see my friends and that's it. I'm not really interested in having a boyfriend. Since there's only 1 month and half left of school, there's no point in having a fling with someone. I need to focus on my grades. Junior year is very important. I thought Dick could have been nice, but every time I attempt to talk to him, he shuts me off. He thinks he's the greatest person in the world. Cocky and arrogant. Not to mention we get into stupid fights, especially in front of our friends at lunch. They always say we're like an old married couple. But I would never go for anyone like Richard Grayson.

* * *

It's Friday morning and I'm just getting dressed for school. I hear my phone vibrate and see that I have a text message from Karen.

"Heey Kori! Wanna go to the football game tonight with everyone? You can sleepover after if you want! :)"

I smile and tell her I would love to go.

I head downstairs and see my mother and Koma like always.

"Mother, may I go to my school's football game tonight? And sleepover my friend Karen's house?" I ask innocently.

My mother sighs, but reluctantly agrees. I give her a big kiss and hug and Koma and I leave.

Once I get to school, I see all of my friends crowded around my locker, even Dick.

I smile at them. "Hello everyone."

Karen smiles at me. "Hey Kori, I was just telling everyone about the plans for tonight."

"It's gonna be so sweet! We get to see Vic and Rich play tonight!" Gar says.

I suspected Vic plays football, but I didn't know Dick did.

I look at Dick and ask, "You play?"

He chuckles. "Yep. You better wish me luck tonight."

I laugh sarcastically. "Yeah right."

Everyone sighs at us.

The bell rings and we go our separate ways to our classes. Except for Vic and I. As we're walking together, I look back at Dick and see him and Barbara holding hands and walking together. I sigh.

Vic notices and looks at me with a frown. "What's wrong little lady?"

I look up at him. "It's nothing."

He puts his strong hand on my shoulder. "C'mon, you're like my little sis. You can tell your big bro anything."

I hesitantly answer him. "I don't know I just feel a little jealous of Barbara."

Vic raises his eyebrow. "Why?"

I shrug my shoulders. "She just...has everything. Money, clothes, tons of people like her and she has…"

"Rich?" Vic asks.

"No, I don't care if she's dating him. I mean she has just a lot of stuff most girls want. I bet boys chase her around all the time. I'm just the new girl here." I say sadly.

"Kori, you're not just some new girl. You have a bunch of friends who love you. And honestly, I see guys' giving you looks."

I giggled. "Really?"

Vic smirks. "Yeah, but they're not allowed to touch my little sis."

I can't help, but smile at him. It felt nice having a friend like Vic. He's like a big brother who can take care of me.

I stop walking and give Vic a big bear hug and he hugs me back.

"Thanks for being a great friend." I say.

Vic smiles at me and we're finally in class.

* * *

I'm excited for the school day to finally be over. When I get home, I decided to take a 30 minute nap before the game. My nap is interrupted 10 minutes later when I hear my phone vibrate. I groggily grab my phone from my nightstand and it says I have a message from Dick. I feel annoyed, but read his message.

"You're still coming to the game tonight right?"

I get confused, but answer him.

"Yeah..why?"

He texts back.

"Don't forget to cheer me on ;)"

I scoff and put my phone down. Since I'm already awake, I decide to get ready. I straighten my hair and brush it, touch up my makeup and decide to wear a loose long sleeve gray shirt, blue skinny jeans, navy toms, and a black beanie. When I get downstairs, I remember that Koma is out with her boyfriend and my mother is at work, so I don't have a ride.

"Ugh…" I exasperate.

I text Rachel about a ride and she tells me Karen is taking her, Gar and Vic and the car is full and apologizes to me. I sigh.

"Dammit…only more person I can ask."

I dial the number and call.

'Hey, can you give me a ride?' I ask.


	5. Good luck

**Please review!**

**Chapter 5-Good luck**

* * *

I hear my door bell ring and I grab my bag for Karen's sleepover. I open the door and see Dick in his football uniform.

"Thanks for giving me a ride." I say.

Dick chuckles. "You know you need me sometimes."

I roll my eyes at him.

Dick and I walk to his car and I couldn't help, but notice how amazing it was.

"Wow, nice car." I compliment.

"Thanks." He says with smile.

I sit in his car and even the interior is amazing. Dick gets in the car and starts driving.

"Um, is Barbara coming?" I ask hesitantly.

"Nope. She's going to her friend's party." He says indifferently.

"Oh…I'm sorry." I say.

Dick shrugs his shoulders. "It's fine. I mean, at least you can still watch me play."

I feel a little surprised. "You really wanted me to go?"

Dick smiles. "Yeah. It's nice spending time with you."

I feel a soft pink color creeping on my cheeks and quickly put my hands on my cheeks before he can notice.

"What do you mean? You never like seeing me at school." I say suspiciously.

Dick laughs. "You know I'm just messing with you."

"Whatever." I say curtly and cross my arms.

After a long silence, I decide to try to make conversation with him. "Well, Richard," I begin jokingly. "I know a lot about you."

Dick raises an eyebrow, "Oh really?"

I nod my head. "Is there anything I don't know about you that the whole town doesn't know?"

Dick laughs. "Oh there's a lot. But I want to know more about you, Kori."

"Okay, I was born in the island called Tameran. I lived with my family my whole life. But um…recent complications have caused us to have to move here in Jump City. I live with my mother and older sister. And in Tamera we had our own language. So before I started school here, I spent months learning English and took online school. And sometimes I still have trouble with English. It's a little embarrassing." I say while a blush is forming back on my cheeks.

Dick looked at me and suddenly grabbed my hand gently. I felt my blood rushing and not to mention…shocked. I stared at his hand holding mine and looked at him.

"Kori, your English is fine. And your whole life really sounds interesting. A lot more than mine." He replies. He lets go of my hand.

"Doubt that. Tell me more about it." I plead.

"Well, Bruce adopted me when I was about 8. My parents died in a trapeze accident. My parents and I were flying acrobats. We were known as the 'Flying Graysons'." Dick chuckles. But uh, the whole accident it's…complicated."

I frowned at Dick. "How can people just stereotype you as some rich playboy? I mean, to be honest I judged you too. I thought you were spoiled and full of yourself. But that's not you. If they heard your story…there's so much more to you Rich."

Dick's deep eyes beamed and looked into mine. "No one has ever said anything like that to me before…"

I stutter. "Oh…um I'm, sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean-"

He cuts me off. "Kori, I'm not offended. I'm actually happy. Thank you."

I give him a small smile and I'm in a little disbelief that we're actually having a nice conversation.

We arrive at the school parking lot and get out of the car. Dick grabs his helmet from the backseat and I grab my bag.

"Well, I better get to the field." He says.

I nod my head at him and we begin walking our separate ways. But I turn around and call his name.

He turns and looks at me.

"Good luck." I say and I see him smile.


	6. Football game

**Please review!**

**Chapter 6-Football game**

* * *

I find Karen, Gar and Rachel sitting on the bleachers and I join them. They all greeted me and we waited for the game to start.

"Sleepover right?" I ask Karen.

She smiles. "Of course girl. Rachel is coming too."

I smile and look at Rachel. "Really?"

She shrugs. "It could be fun." She says in her usual monotone voice.

Everyone sees the players emerging onto the field. I look for Rich and Vic. The boys see us and we all wave at them. Dick looks at me and gives me a wink and I shake my head at him.

'_Ugh, he's still stupid.'_

The game lasts for about two hours. Our school is doing a lot better than our rival school. I noticed how intense and concentrated Dick is with the game and Vic too. Overall, the game is going good. And finally, our school scores the last touchdown. The crowd applauds and cheers and is going crazy.

We meet the boys on the field once everything clears up a bit. Karen runs up to Vic and jumps into his arms.

"You did amazing sparky!" She says elatedly.

They share a kiss and Gar makes a vomiting sound. Rachel smacks him on the head and we all laugh.

"You guys did great." I say to them.

They both smile at me.

"Thanks Kori." Dick says.

As I'm about to say something else, I see Barbara hug Dick from behind.

"Hey Richie!" She says.

He turns around to face her and gives her a small hug.

"I thought you had a party?" He says to her.

"Yeah, well the cops showed up like 15 minutes ago and busted the party so my friend gave me a ride over here." She replies.

"Oh, cool." He says.

I notice my friends glaring at Barbara and she seems a little uncomfortable.

Barbara finally sees me. "Oh hey Kori! I didn't know you and Richie were friends?"

I give her a small smile. "Yeah…"

She grabs Dick's hand. "Well we should go celebrate on your victory Richie. Ice cream, your treat?" She bats her eyelashes at him.

Dick groans and Barbara claps happily. She pulls Dick away and I feel my stomach twist a little.

I see Rachel and Karen cross their arms and have a face of disgust.

"He needs to dump her already. She's a gold digger." Karen says.

"And controlling." Rachel adds.

"He needs to be with someone else." Gar says.

"Someone sweet and right for him." Vic says.

"Someone like-"Karen pauses and everyone turns and looks at me.

I raise my eyebrows at them, but finally realize what's going. "Ha ha, very funny. You know me and him don't get along."

"Opposites attract." Gar says while wiggling his eybrows.

I scoff. "Don't even bother playing matchmaker guys. We don't like each other."

"Well-"Vic begins, but I interrupt him.

"Karen, can we please go now?" I ask her.

Karen laughs and nods her head.

* * *

Luckily for me, Vic's parents gave him and Gar a ride back to Vic's house, they were having their own sleepover. So I got to ride with Karen and Rachel.

We left the school and got to Karen's house. We all changed into our pajamas and laid out our sweets and soda in her room.

"Time for girl talk." Karen said slyly.

"Um, I heard people here play a game of the dare and truth?" I said stupidly.

Karen and Rachel chuckle.

"Truth and Dare, Kori." Karen corrected.

"Oh well, Rachel…truth or dare?" I ask her.

"Truth." She says.

"Do you like anyone?" I ask her

"No." She says bluntly.

"Well, I think Gar likes you." I say.

I see her usual light cheeks, turn to a bright red and she shakes her head.

"Very funny." She says.

"No really, I think he does." I insisted.

She raises an eyebrow. "How?"

Karen finishes for me. "The way he looks at you! And how he's always trying to impress you and invite you to all our plans."

"He's just being his usual self." Rachel says flatly.

Karen rolls her eyes. "Whatever, you'll admit it eventually."

Rachel glares at Karen.

"What about you Kori, like anyone?" Karen asks me.

I shake my head. "No, I don't want a boyfriend anyways. I need to focus on school."

Karen mocks me. "That's what they all say Kori!"

I cross my arms jokingly. "Well it's the truth.

"Ugh, how can you not like anyone? So many guys want you! I bet you'll have a boyfriend before school ends." Karen insists.

I smirk. "We'll see."


	7. Partners

**Please review!**

**Chapter 7-Partners**

* * *

I continuously hit my pen against my desk until it begins to annoy me. Instead, I play with my hair. But that begins to bore me too. There's just nothing interesting going on in journalism, which is surprising. This is my favorite class. We all have to silently read an article, but I finished a while ago. Everyone else is still reading. I decide to rest my head on my desk and slowly doze off, until my teacher's voice startles me.

"Everyone, for the next two weeks, you'll be doing a project with a partner. You both need to write an article on something that means a lot to you or deeply concerns you. Anything you're interested in, as long as it's not childish." The teacher says.

I see students getting out of their seats ready to pick their partners, but the teacher interrupts them.

"Get back in your seats! _I_ picked your partners. The first group is Richard and Kori." He says.

"Too bad cutie, you're stuck with grumpy old Grayson." Xavier whispers to me.

I couldn't help, but giggle. Dick shoots Xavier and me a glare. After our teacher finishes assigning partners, I move my desk a little closer to Dick.

"So…what do you want to write about?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Don't really care."

"Well is there anything you're interested in?" I ask again.

"Nope." He says abruptly.

I scrunch my eyebrows. "You know Dick, I'm trying to make an effort here and we need to work on this project together okay? I don't know what happened to the person I talked to Friday night, but I'd rather have him here."

Dick slowly turns his head to me and looks at me with a blank expression, while I still hold my stern expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about Kori." He says directly.

"Stop acting stupid. You know what I'm talking about." I say firmly.

"Okay tell me more about your beautiful life on your stupid island." He says more harshly.

My mouth is in a gap. "Why are you acting like a jerk?"

"To be honest, I really didn't care about your stupid life story. I was just being polite." He says with a sneer.

I feel my fist clench, but restrain myself from hitting him. Instead I move my desk away from him, closer to Xavier. I let out an over exaggerated sigh and Xavier puts his hand on my back.

"You okay?" He asks.

"No." I say.

"What's wrong babe?" He asks me.

I shake my head. "Nothing, Dick was just being rude to me." I whisper, so Dick can't hear me.

Xavier furrows his eyebrows. "Told you that guy is an ass."

"I don't understand, we were getting along on Friday and now he's acting like none it ever happened. He's being the same jerk he was before." I say frustrated.

Xavier leans his body closer to me. I look into his deep dark eyes.

"Forget him. You're too cute and sweet for some idiot like him." He whispers.

I felt a shiver, but I wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

"Thanks, Xavier." I say.

He smiles. "Anytime cutie."

I smile at him. "I should start working and you should too."

I position my chair so that it's almost isolated. I could feel Dick looking at Xavier and I when we were talking. Right now, he's not doing anything. I really don't care for talking to him, instead I write down some ideas I have for the article.

* * *

The school day is over. The building gets pretty empty and I'm still at my locker. I hear footsteps get closer towards and I look to see where's it's coming from. It's Dick. I immediately look away, but he stands right next to me.

"I need to talk to you." He says softly.

"Oh right, who am I talking to? The asshole in journalism or the nice guy from Friday night?" I ask sarcastically.

Dick frowns. "I know I was a douche to you today, but-"

I cut him off. "But what?"

"Babs wants me to stay away from you." He says resentfully.

I scrunch my eyebrows. "Um why?"

"She's jealous." He says bluntly. "She thinks there's something going on between us and even though I told her over and over nothing is. She told to stay away from you and if you talk to me, to act like a jerk."

"Well you know that still doesn't make this any better right?" I say, still feeling upset.

"I know what I did is unacceptable, but I'm really sorry Kori. I didn't mean it. I'm not usually friends with girls. It's usually just a hook up type of thing with girls. I can't really be friends with other girls if I'm dating Babs. But I've known Karen and Rachel for so long, they're like my sisters. "

"She shouldn't stop you from having friends." I say.

"Yeah, I know. And maybe she's right. Maybe something will happen between us." He gives me a playful wink and nudges me.

I scoff at him. "Nothing is going to happen between us Rich, got that? We're just going to be partners for the next two weeks. So you will show me respect and don't worry about this dumb romantic stuff okay?"

Dick smirks at me. "Sure thing, partner."


	8. The truth

**Please review (:**

**Chapter 8-The Truth**

* * *

I hear my door bell ring and rush downstairs to answer. I look through the peephole and see Dick's face. And I open the door.

"You're late." I say curtly.

Dick chuckles. "I didn't realize this was an appointment." He says and as he closes my door behind him.

"It's not," I say while walking upstairs. "But we need to work on this article."

Finally Dick and I are in my room and he immediately plops himself on my bed. I glare at him and he laughs at me again. I roll my eyes and sit at my desk. I take out a sheet of paper and a pen.

"Any ideas?" I ask him.

"Global warming." He says jokingly.

"No, that's not original. We need to write about something different." I tell him.

For the next few moments, Dick and I give each other ideas. But never agree to them. We even bicker with each other a little, but still can't agree on a topic that means something to both of us.

"Kori, honestly you're so hardheaded you won't accept any of my ideas." Dick says to me.

I narrow my eyes at him. "What about mine? You won't accept mine either! I actually have good ideas; you're just trying to be smartass."

Dick scoffs at me. "Whatever Kori."

We sit in silence. We don't say a word to each other. I give myself time to cool off from our heated argument and to also think of topics. Finally, it clicks. The topic that could mean something to both of us.

"What about losing a parent." I say quietly and without bothering to turn in my seat to look at him.

"What?" He asks.

I turn around to face him. "We could write the article about what it feels like to lose a parent and represent all of the kids in the world who have lost their parents."

Dick looks at me for a few moments, than looks down at the ground. "I don't know."

"We could do it. It means something to both of us." I say.

Dick gives me a confused look. "How do _you_ know what it feels like?"

I look away from him. "I lost my father."

"What? When?" He asks concerned.

"Two years ago." I say.

"So that's why you moved here?" He asks me.

I nod my head. "We couldn't afford to live there anymore without my dad. Plus it would bring back bad memories."

Dick looks away. "How did he die?"

"He had heart failure." I say.

He now gets off my bed and kneels in front of me and I look down at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You don't care about my stupid life story, remember?" I say crossly.

He puts his hands on my shoulders. "Kori, I told you I didn't mean that. I _do_ care."

I bit my lip. I can't believe Richard Grayson is saying this to me. He cares about me.

"I'm sorry for being so rude to you. I'm not going to do that anymore." He says sincerely.

I don't know why, but I feel tears in my eyes. I don't why I'm getting so emotional right now. I guess I'm not used to someone saying these kinds of things to me. How could someone care for me? Especially someone like him. I needed someone to comfort for my father's death. I know I had my mother and Koma. But it's nice having a friend too.

Dick doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around me. I bury my head in his shoulder and breathe in his scent. Him holding me makes me feel so warm inside, I don't know why.

"Thank you for caring." I whisper in his ear.

"I'll always care about you." He whispers back.

I feel shivers go down my spine and this time, I know it's a good feeling. He finally lets go of me and I felt cold again.

"Come on, let's write that article." He says and smiles at me.

I smiled back at him.

For the couples of hours Dick was here, we made half of a first rough draft of the article. So far it's decent, but I'll be spending a lot of time with him for the next two weeks. And with me and him, we're a good team. Despite our differences and how much we argue, deep down Richard cares for me and I know I care for him too.


	9. Look after you

**Thank you so much for the reviews (': please keep reviewing! **

**Chapter 9-Look after you**

* * *

"_Kori…"_

_I turn around and see him approaching me. I feel my heart pounding and can't help but smile at him._

"_Richard?" I say._

_We're finally face to face. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his body. I run my hands along his built chest._

_I look in his eyes. "Richard what are y-"_

"_Shh…" He cuts me off and puts his finger to my lips to silence me._

_I don't say another word. He puts one of his hands on my cheek and pulls my face into his and our lips are inches away-_

The ringing of my alarm abruptly wakes me up and I groan. I'm way too exhausted for school. Dick and I stayed up late working on our article.

'_Richard.'_

I remember the dream I just had moments ago. We almost kissed in the dream and I feel a little taken aback. It's odd for me to dream about him like that. And now every time I see him, I'm going to feel weird. Great.

I get off of bed and go straight to my shower. I don't hesitate to go straight into the cold water. Maybe this cold water will make me think straight and _not_ have dreams about my friend anymore. Not to mention he has a girlfriend.

I finish washing myself and wrap a towel around my body. I step in front of my closet and my eyes scan around it looking for something to wear. I settle on a short sleeve purple V-neck, jeans and gray toms. I curl my hair a little and put on a little makeup. I finish getting ready and go downstairs.

I greet my mother and sister and only give my mother a hug. I make myself a bowl of cereal and sit with them at the breakfast table.

"So mom, my friend Richard is probably coming over almost every day for the next two weeks." I say casually.

My mother stops drinking her coffee and gives me an odd look. "Who is Richard and why?"

"I told you he's my friend from school and we need to work on this article together. Please mother it's important." I tell her.

She sighs. "Honey please don't make me go over safe se-"

I quickly cut her off. "Mother ew no! He's just my friend! And we're only working on this article I promise."

I hear Koma laugh at me and my mother's conversation, but ignore it.

"Alright. But only for two hours every time he comes over got it?" She says sternly.

I smile and nod my head. I give my mother a kiss on the cheek and leave the house and go into Koma's car.

* * *

Koma drops me off at school and I head for my locker like usual. I see everyone except Dick at my locker.

"Hi everyone." I greet them with a warm smile.

They all greet me.

"Have you seen playboy?" Gar asks me.

"No, I haven't seen 'playboy'." I say to him.

I feel a warm hand on my shoulder and freeze.

"Hey guys." Dick says.

They all greet him.

"Hey partner." He says to me.

I hadn't realized I'd feel so awkward with him now since my dream. I slowly turn around and face him.

I give him an awkward smile. "Heeeey…you."

He chuckles at me. "See you at lunch. I got to go meet Barbara."

He gives me one last pat on the shoulder and I watch him walk away from me. I feel relieved, but weird at the same time.

* * *

During journalism, I ask my teacher if I can go to the bathroom and he lets me. All day, I've been feeling so weird. I can't stop thinking about the dream I had about Rich. Especially since I have a class with him right now, I could barely concentrate on our work. And the fact that he's coming to my house almost every day makes me nervous.

As I'm walking to the bathroom, I hear someone walking behind me, but dismiss it.

"Hey cutie." Xavier says.

I turn around and look at him. "Oh hi."

"So I couldn't help, but notice you and Grayson talking to each other in class." He says.

"Oh...yeah." I say confused.

He gets closer to me. "I thought I told you about that kid. He's an ass and you're still talking to him? Even after he hurt your feelings?" He says more bitterly.

I feel tense and back away from him. "Uh, it's fine. We worked things out."

Suddenly he grabs my arm and it stings. "Stop fooling around with that kid. He's bad news."

I attempt to yank my arm away from him. "I can handle myself Xavier. Stop acting like you're my boyfriend."

Now, he grabs my other arm and slams me against the lockers. I look into his eyes with fear and he has no remorse in his eyes.

"You're naïve. You don't know anything about him. I could treat you so much better." He grits through his teeth.

I say nothing. I still try to yank away from him, but he's much stronger than I am. I can't get out of his grip.

"Xavier please stop." I plead.

Unexpectedly, he presses his lips hard onto mine. I feel so disgusted and I can't push him off, he has ahold of my arms. I squirm around, but it does nothing.

Suddenly, Xavier is knocked down on the ground. My eyes widen when I see him on the floor with a bloody nose and mouth. I look to my left and see Rich.

"Richard-"I begin to say.

"Don't touch her!" He screams. I see his fists are clenched so tight that his knuckles are white. His eyes are burning with anger. This isn't the same guy I know. I've never seen him so angry and it's actually scaring me.

"Shut the hell up Grayson! You don't know how to treat a woman!" He yells viciously.

Xavier wipes the blood off his face with arm and gets ready to hit Richard.

"Stop!" I scream.

A teacher rushes out of their classroom and looks at the scene, horrified.

"What is going on here?!" The teacher demands to know.

"He was sexually harassing her, so I punched him to get him off of her." Dick says firmly.

The teacher looks at me. "Is this true?"

"Yes." I quickly answer.

She points to Xavier. "You're going to the office. Now. " She looks back at Rich and I. "I'll have the principal call you two up when he's finished with him."

Xaiver groans and follows the teacher to the office. He looks back at Rich and I and gives us both a hard glare.

I can hear myself breathing heavily. I fall back against the lockers and Rich immediately stands in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders to hold me up.

"Kori are you okay?" He asks.

I look into his eyes. They're no longer filled with hatred; more of concern. It's hard for me to look away from them.

"I'm fine." I finally say.

"What else did he do to you?" He asks, more worried.

I shake my head. "He just grabbed my arms-"

Richard looks at my arms, disturbed. I look at them too and realize that my red marks are turning into bruises.

"Oh…" Is all I can say.

"Kori, I swear I'll beat him so hard he won't be able to walk." Rich says strictly.

"Rich please don't I'm fine." I beg.

"No you're not!" He shouts.

I shake at his voice. He immediately notices how much he scared me. He wraps his arms around me and brings my body into his.

"Kori…" He says.

'_Oh God. The dream.'_

"I'm sorry." He says sorrowfully.

"Richard it's okay I promise." I say.

My face is buried into his chest. I breathe in his scent again. It's a scent I can't forget. And his body is so strong and warm. I have never felt so safe.

He lets go of me.

"If you hadn't come here in time…thank you." I say with a small smile.

"I won't let anyone hurt you." He says firmly.

Although I feel shaken up from what just happened, I believe him. Richard is going to protect me.

He puts his arm around my shoulder.

"We should probably get to the office." He says with a small smile.

I smile at him and we walk to the office.


	10. An unexpected date

**Thank you so much for the reviews it means a lot. ((:**

**Chapter 10-An unexpected date**

* * *

I'm in my own world right now. I'm completely zoned out. I can't hear anything around me and I try not to. I just keep thinking about my life back on Tameran. I have been feeling the "home sick". Tameran is such a beautiful place and I had friends there. But ever since my father died, my life was never the same there. Finally after two years, Koma, my mother and I couldn't take it anymore. We couldn't live there without my father. He was our rock. Our protector. The person who kept things going there. If we can't have a life there, we're having a life here in Jump City.

Suddenly, Karen's voice wakes me up from my over thinking.

"Kori did you hear about the party?" Karen asks me.

"Huh…what party?" I ask her still dazed.

Karen and I were sitting in the bleachers at gym and this was another one of our free days in class.

"Every year, Bruce Wayne has a party celebrating his company's success. It's really fancy. Rich invites us every year." She tells me.

I smile. "Wow, sounds like fun."

"Yeah his place is huge. Perfect party mansion." She says.

I chuckle at her.

"Wait, you weren't invited?" She asks.

I shake my head no.

"Oh my god, Rich better invite you. I mean you guys have been getting along this week." She says.

I smile thinking about the past week I've spent with him. "We'll see."

Rich and I also decided to keep the whole Xavier thing a secret. Xavier harassing me is something I don't want to openly talk about. Even with my friends. But my mother knows, because the school called her the day it happened. Thankfully, she has more respect for Rich for helping me.

Karen smiles at me. "So how's that article coming along?"

I nod my head. "Good, I'm glad me and him could agree on a topic."

"What's the topic?" She asks.

"It's a surprise." I tell her.

She nudges me. "Come on Kori, I won't tell anyone."

Before I could answer her, our bell rings. Time for the next class and I quickly jump off the bleachers.

"Saved by the bell." I say to her while laughing.

"Seriously?" I hear her say in distance.

As I'm walking to my class, I hear a familiar voice call my name and I turn around. It was Dick and I felt my stomach get a weird fluttery feeling.

"Hey." I greet him.

"I'm guessing you've heard about Bruce's party?" He said to me.

I nod my head. "Karen just told me."

"Well, Miss Anders," He says jokingly. "Would you like to escort me to the party?"

I raise an eyebrow. "You mean as your date?"

"Yes, as friends." He says.

"What about your girlfriend?" I ask him.

Rich sighs. "I don't know about Babs anymore. She always has something better to do when I invite her to something."

I frown. I feel bad for Rich. Babs has never sounded like she treats him well. And as much as I want to convince Rich she's not the right person, I don't want to upset him and he doesn't deserve that.

"Well, in that case, I'd love to be your date Rich." I say with a playful smile.

Rich chuckles. "Thank you. Party starts at 8 and I'll pick you up at 7:30."

"8:00?" I ask. "That's late, you're lucky this is a Friday night."

"What time do you usually go to bed?" He asks me.

"9:00." I say a little embarrassed.

Rich smiles. "Wow, you're an early bird."

"Well if I don't have a normal sleeping pattern it could stunt my growth." I say defensively.

Rich laughs. "I think you're done growing Kory. Anyways, I'll see you tonight."

* * *

"Mother?" I say.

She looks at me with a sweet smile. "What is it bumgorf?"

"Well, you remember Richard? He has invited me to a formal celebration tonight. Can I go?" I ask her.

"What time?" She asks.

"From eight to midnight." I tell her.

"Midnight Kori?!" She raises her voice.

"Mother please? I'll get home safely and everything." I plead her.

"I hope so Kori." She says with a frown.

I give her a huge hug. "Oh thank you mother! I promise everything will be fine and I'll see you when I get back."

My mother smiles and she returns the hug. I immediately run upstairs to find a dress to wear. After an argument with myself, I decide to wear a dress with the top being complete silver sequins and the skirt is a little flowy, but still fitted and black and stops just above my knees. And I'll wear silver heels. I jump in the shower and finish washing myself in 10 minutes. I try to dry my hair quickly, but that's not possible considering my hair is so long and thick. After drying it, I put on makeup. For my hair, I do a loose curly bun with one small braid on each side of my head. Finally I put on my dress and shoes. I walk downstairs and when my mother sees me, her face brightens up.

"Oh bumgorf! You look like a princess." She says brightly.

I smile at her. "Thank you mother."

"So when will your date be here?" She asks.

I look at the clock on the wall. "Any minute."

"Well I wish I could stay dear, but I need to get to my night shift. Have a good time sweetie." She says while hugging me.

I give her a kiss on the cheek and she leaves.

Five minutes later, I hear my doorbell ring. I feel my heart racing when I realize it's Rich. I open the door and feel the butterflies in my stomach going crazy. He looked perfect wearing a tux. I probably looked like an idiot staring at him in awe.

"You look breath taking." He says softly.

I felt my face getting hot at his compliment. I never thought I would hear him say that to me. Everyday this guy never ceases to surprise me.

I smile at him. "Well so do you."

He smiles sweetly at me. "Shall we leave now?"

"We shall." I say.

* * *

**Please review (:**


	11. Realization

**Ahh your reviews make me really happy, keep reviewing. let me know how the story is going please (:**

**Chapter 11-Realization**

* * *

During our car ride, I kept catching glimpses of Richard's face. I don't know why I want to look at his face so much. Sure, he's good looking. But I usually don't feel the need to stare at a guy like this. He looks so different wearing a tux. Usually he's wearing a T-shirt and jeans and his hair is messy. Right now, he definitely looks like the son of a billionaire.

As I'm looking at Rich, he turns to look at me and I quickly look away. Great, I can already feel myself blushing.

Rich chuckles. "I know I'm very attractive."

I shake my head. "Ha ha."

"Just admit it." He says.

"How about no." I say.

"So do you don't think I'm attractive? Than explain your bright red cheeks." He says with a playful smile.

I blush even harder and feel shy. "No, it's just hot in here. That's all."

Rich turns the air conditioning on full blast, freezing. I glare at him and he laughs even harder.

* * *

Rich and I finally arrive at the party and I see all of my friends. I would run over to greet them, but then I remember I'm at a very formal event. So I keep my cool and they walk over to Rich and I.

"Kori! Dick!" Gar calls.

"Hello my friends." I say politely.

"Kori you look gorgeous!" Karen says.

I smile at her. "Thank you Karen, you and Rachel look beautiful too."

They both thank me and Gar pouts at me.

I roll my eyes and say, "You look handsome too Gar."

Gar gives me a big grin and I can't help, but smile back at him.

"So Dick, is Kori your date?" Vic asks while raising his eyebrows.

As soon as Vic says that, I feel shy again.

Karen nudges Vic. "Sparky, don't pressure them."

Rich chuckles. "Let's go see Bruce."

We all follow Rich through the mansion, until we finally see Bruce Wayne. He is a very tall, built and handsome man. Upon seeing him, I already feel very intimidated and actual very thankful to be allowed in his home.

"Bruce, you know my friends." Rich says while gesturing to our friends.

Bruce nods. "Great to see you all."

"And Bruce," Rich begins as he puts a hand on my shoulder. "This is Kori Anders. She's new to Jump City."

Bruce gives me a modest smile and extends his hand to me and I shake it. "Very nice to meet you Kori."

I smile at him. "It's an honor to meet you sir."

Bruce chuckles. "Please, just call me Bruce."

I smile and nod my head.

"Why don't you all go dance?" Bruce suggests.

My friends waste no time going to the dance floor. Rich and I join them and as soon as we get there a slow song comes on. I see couples pairing up. After much persuading I even see Gar and Rachel dancing. Rich and I awkwardly watch everyone, but he turns me to face him.

"Would you like to dance with me Kori?" He asks with a small smile.

I smile and nod my head.

He takes my hand and leads me closer to the dance floor. I put my hands on his shoulders and he puts his hands on my waist and I can already feel my heart pounding. Rich makes an attempt to dance with me, but I don't even move an inch.

"What's wrong?" He asks me.

"I um…can't really dance." I say embarrassed.

Rich smiles at me. "Just follow my lead."

And I do. Rich and I slowly sway to the music and nothing more. It's not complicated at all; I thought there would be more to it. But there is. Rich and I move even more and he even spins me and I twirl and land back into his chest. We laugh and smile the whole time he teaches me. I feel more and more comfortable.

I slowly wrap my arms around his neck and his hands are still on my waist. I've never felt this way being with Rich. My emerald eyes are locked onto his icy blue eyes. I don't even feel like I'm with the spoiled rich boy I met a month ago. I feel like I'm with the real Richard Grayson. The one who cares for people, who is sensitive, but protective. Intelligent and he can still make me smile. This past month, he's grown on me. The real Richard is afraid to show his true self. But when it's just me and him, I see his true self.

We don't say a word to each other and we don't have to. Just being around him is enough for me. But finally, he breaks the silence.

"Kori?" He says.

"Yes?" I say.

"I just wanted to say that, I know we don't get along sometimes, but you're a true friend to me. Even when I'm a jerk to you." He tells me.

I give him a small smile. "You're a good friend too Rich."

He smiles at me. "And I also wanted to-"

Rich gets interrupted by Barbara grabbing him. "Richie!"

Rich looks so confused. "Babs? I thought you-"

She interrupts him again. "I know, but how could I waste the time I could be spending with you."

"Oh, yeah." He says displeased.

Barbara looks at me. "Thanks for watching _my_ boyfriend Kori. I can take it from here."

I nod and give her a fake smile. I begin to walk away from them, but when I look back I see Barbara pushing her lips onto Rich's. I feel sick and resentful when I see them together. And at that moment, I come to the conclusion that I'm in love with Richard Grayson.

* * *

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	12. How to save a life

**Hey everyone! sorry I haven't been updating, I just started school this week. ): I'm doing my best to update as often as I can. (: thank you for the reviews3**

**Chapter 12-How to save a life**

* * *

As I'm walking outside of the mansion, my phone vibrates. I check the caller ID and it's Koma. That's very unusual, she _never_ calls me. But I answer.

"Hello?" I say.

"Kori!" Koma screams.

"Koma what's going?" I ask getting worried.

"It's mother! She's in the hospital, she's in critical condition." Koma says, I can hear in her voice, she's chocked up and crying.

"What happened?!" I cry.

"A car accident, just get here NOW." She urges me.

"I'll be there in heart beat." I say hurriedly.

I start running, but realize I'll never make it in time. There's only one person that can help me. I run back into the mansion and see Rich talking to Barbara.

"Rich!" I yell.

He looks at me, immediately worried. "What's wrong?"

"My mother is in the hospital, I need you to take me there please!" I plead him.

His eyes widen, grabs my arm and we both start running out the mansion, although I hear Barbara calling Rich's name. We both ignore her; this is no time for pity jealously.

Rich and I get into his car and he speeds away. The whole car ride, I feel like I can't even breathe. I can't imagine anything happening to my mother. I don't know what I'll do if my mother doesn't make it. I don't think I would want to live anymore. Losing a father and mother in just two years is too much for someone.

Rich notices my discomfort and grabs my hand. "We'll be there soon Kori."

I slowly nod my head, but still don't feel any better.

After what seems like forever, we arrive at the hospital. Rich and I rush inside. I see Koma pacing back in forth in the waiting room. I run over to her.

"Koma! What's going on right now?" I ask her.

Koma shakes her head and I see tears in her eyes. I haven't seen her cry since our father died.

"It was a head on collision. She flew out of her car and onto the ground. I don't know if she's going to make it Kori." She says through her tears.

I feel my heart stop for a moment and the tears are already falling. I grab Koma by her shoulders.

"She's going to make it Koma! She is a strong person!" I cry to her.

Koma cries even harder and sits on a chair. I sit next to her and Rich sits next to me. I hold Koma's hand and surprisingly, she holds mine too. And Rich holds my hand.

I have no idea how long we've been sitting in the waiting room. It feels like it has been hours, days, months. I don't know. The longer I wait, I lose hope. If they could help my mother, wouldn't they have known by now? It's like they're torturing me. But I remember my mother is a strong woman. She can make it. She _will_ make it.

I notice Koma has fallen asleep. It's a good time for me to leave. I stand up from my seat and start walking out of the waiting room, but Rich catches up to me.

"Where are you going?" He asks me.

"I…I just don't want to be in this room anymore. I need some fresh air." I tell him.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asks me.

I shake my head. "No, I just need to be alone right now." I say hollowly.

I walk out of the hospital before Rich can say anything to me. I'm feeling so overwhelmed with everything going on right now. It doesn't even feel real yet. It hasn't sunken in. I stare at cars passing by, wondering if the person who hurt my mother is behind bars. We haven't heard anything from the police; I just need to make sure my mother will be okay first.

I sit on the ground in front of the hospital and tuck my legs into my chest. My face is wet from crying so much and I bet my eyes are red and puffy. Every few seconds I get a little shiver. I don't know how to feel right now. I don't want to lose my mother. She's my best friend. She's the one who made me feel better after my father died. How am I going to feel better if she dies when she's not there to help me?

'_Don't think like that. She's going to make it.'_

I hear the doors to the hospital entrance open and look behind me.

"Come inside. The doctor needs to talk to you." Rich says to me.

I nod my head. Rich extends his hand to me and I hold it. He helps me up and we walk inside the hospital. I notice that Koma is awake and waiting with the doctor for me. Rich and I approach them. When I look at the doctor's face, he looks so troubled. Which makes me begin to worry.

"Doctor?" I say.

He looks at Koma and I. "We tried for so long girls, we tried everything. There were so many things that happened to her we couldn't fix. Her skull was crushed, she had a broken back and one of her ribs punctured her lungs. I'm so sorry; your mother didn't make it."

I immediately feel numb. I don't think I heard the doctor right. What he said is impossible.

"What?" I ask him.

He frowns at me. "She's dead Kori."

I clench my fists. "Stop saying that! You're lying to me!"

"I wish I was Kori, but-"I cut him off.

I put my hands over my hands to block out what he's saying. "Stop it! Stop!"

Tears are pouring out of my eyes and onto the floor. I see Koma falls onto the chair and sobs deeply. Rich looks like he is disbelief, which I am too.

I run out of the hospital and don't stop running. Tears pour out faster and faster and my heart feels like it's literally aching. I see how many cars are out there and how fast they are driving. I don't hesitate to run even faster towards the cars.

'_I'm not going to be here without out my mother.'_

Just before a car is about to hit me, I black out.

* * *

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	13. Breath me

**Thank you everyone.3 I update as often as I can. (:**

**Chapter 13-Breath me**

* * *

I hear a beeping sound. It was almost rhythmic. And I think it's heart monitor. But that's weird, why I am I hearing a heart monitor? I feel unusually cold and uncomfortable. My head is aching and I start to feel so confused now. I finally slowly open my eyes. I'm in a white room. White walls surrounding me, white bed, white everything. I'm in the hospital. But why?

My eyes scan the room more and I see Rich asleep in a chair right next to the bed. And next to him on the floor, I see balloons, cards, flowers and teddy bears. All saying, "Get Well Soon".

'_What happened to me?'_

I sit up more, but feel extremely sore. I try to extend my hand to Richard, but arm is sore too.

"Rich?" I say.

He doesn't wake up. "Rich?" I say louder.

His eyes blink a few times and finally open. He looks at me with wide eyes and gets up from the chair.

"You're awake." He says with a smile.

I raise my eyebrow. "What happened to me?"

"Kori…you don't remember?" He asks me.

"Huh?" I say.

"You really don't know?" He asks again.

"Rich what happened?!" I ask getting frustrated.

"You tried to kill yourself." He says quietly.

I scrunch my eyebrows. "Why would I do something like that?"

Rich looks even more stunned. "Your mother Kori…"

"What about her?" I ask.

"Kori she's dead." He says mournfully.

"What are you talking about?!" I yell.

But finally, it all clicks together. I remember everything. All of it. She died from a car crash. And I was going insane. So much that I wanted to die. I almost got hit a by a car, I think. But I don't remember anything after that.

"Did I get hit by a car?" I ask him quietly.

He shakes his head. "I pushed you out of the way just in time. But I pushed you too hard to the ground on accident, so you got knocked out. I had to push you hard though, Kori. There were two lanes of cars. It's a miracle I was able to push away from all of those cars."

I look down, astonished. "You saved me."

Rich holds my hand. "Of course. I told you I won't let you get hurt."

I breathe deeply and squeeze my eyes together and can feel my eyes getting filled with tears.

"It doesn't feel real still." I say shakily.

Rich puts his hand on my cheek and caresses it. "Trust me, I understand."

I look up at him. Realizing he knows my pain, he completely understands. He lost both of his parents and I lost mine. I'm so thankful for him. He is someone who understands me and the only person that does. I have my friends, but the bond I have with Rich is so different, he's all I have now.

"So what do I do now?" I ask him.

He sighs. "I was only a kid when I parents died, so I didn't know anything. But I know now, that as long you have people who care about you, they can help you get through this."

I nod my head. "Where's Koma?"

"She's in the waiting room, talking to a lawyer." He says.

"Without me?" I ask angrily.

"Kori this couldn't wait, she needs to know what you guys are going to do now and that guy has your parents will. She'll tell you." He tells me.

I relax a bit. "I know."

After some paper work and an hour later, I'm officially discharged from the hospital. They say I may get some headaches from time to time, but they will go away. I walk to the waiting room with Rich and see Koma shaking hands with the person who I'm assuming is the lawyer and the man leaves the hospital. Koma looks at me and gives me a faint smile.

"You okay?" She asks.

I shrug my shoulders. "What did the lawyer say?"

"Mom and dad left money for us, the house, the cars, everything is ours. And since I'm 18, I'm your legal guardian." She tells me.

I frown a little. "This is too much."

"We'll get through this Kori." She says.

I sigh and look and Richard. "You can go home if you want. I'll go home with Koma."

Rich looks unhappy. "Kori…"

I shake my head. "Rich really you can go home."

He firmly puts his hands on my shoulders. "Kori I'm here for you okay? I'll go back to your house."

I nod my head. "Alright."

The three of us are now at my house. Koma goes to her room and I go to my mother's room. I look at all of her belongings. I see pictures of Koma and I. Her makeup, her decorations, her bed. I go to her closet and look at her clothes. I take one of her shirts and put it to my face. I breathe in the scent of my mother and feel my heart stop. My tears fall onto her shirt. I still can't accept that she won't be here anymore.

I let go of her shirt and leave her room. I quickly walk past Rich and ignore him calling my name. I run up to my room and look through my drawers. I find the small razor I used to harm myself when my father died. I sit on my knees and I press the razor against my skin, but before I can cut my wrist Rich bursts open my door and looks at me in horror. He runs and grabs the razor from me. He puts his hands on my face.

"Kori what are you doing?!" He yells.

I don't say anything. I feel my lip quivering and sob harder. I fall against Richard's chest and bury my face. He wraps his arm firmly around me. We don't say anything. He just rubs my back and lets me cry. He even occasionally kisses the top of my head and each time he does I shiver, but in a good way.

I wish I could tell Rich right now how thankful I am for him, but I can barely talk right now. So to myself, I think, _'Thank you Rich.'_

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**please review!**


	14. Lost

**To NerdyAthlete: Oh my goodness, thank you so much. You recognized what I have been trying to do with the story, that makes me so happy. (':  
And everyone else thank you! Every review means a lot((:  
**

**Chapter 14-Lost**

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I've been skipping school the past week. Thankfully, Koma called the school to let them know about our situation, so my absences will be excused. All of my friends, they really wanted to come over to comfort me, but I told them they could see me when at the funeral. Honestly, I just didn't want people surrounding me right now. I just want to be by myself. Today is my mother's funeral. I've been holding it off, because I still have not accepted what happened. The thought of the funeral makes my stomach sick.

Rich is the only person I've been talking to. He's been visiting me every day, regardless of me telling him he doesn't need to. Even if it's for five minutes, he makes an effort to see me. I think he's afraid of me trying to harm myself again, but I've assured him I won't do it anymore. Even though it's really hard.

Koma and I haven't been talking much. It's been so quiet around here. Not to mention gloomy. Every time I try to talk to Koma, she just tells me she doesn't want to talk. As much I respect my sister's wishes, I just want to talk to her. This is the time I need my sister the most and it's killing me that she wants nothing to do with me like always.

It's around 5:00 and the funeral is at 6:30. I start getting ready. I take a shower, don't bother to put on makeup, leave my hair naturally straight and put on a long sleeve black dress that stops above my knees with heels.

I go downstairs and see that Koma is ready. We don't say a word to each other and leave.

Koma and I are the first ones at the cemetery. My mother's casket has already been buried. In her will, she stated she wanted to be buried immediately without Koma and I seeing so we wouldn't be in as much pain, but it doesn't help at all. We both hold our flowers for her and we place them on her grave. Our minister arrives shortly after. He tells us how sorry he is for our loss and he then prepares his talk.

People start arriving at the funeral. They surround Koma and I, telling us the same things over and over and it's honestly making me insane.

I see Rachel, Gar, Vic and Karen. I smile a little, but I feel happy that they're here. They walk over to me with sympathetic looks and they give me a group hug, which I don't mind from them.

"How are you feeling?" Rachel asks me.

I give her a fake smile. "I'll feel better soon."

"We're all so sorry Kori. You don't deserve to go through this." Karen tells me.

"You know if you need anything, we're all here for you." Vic says.

"And we love you." Gar concludes.

"I love you guys too." I say.

What they is so sweet and I appreciate it, but I don't feel better.

In the distant, I see Rich wearing a suit and walking to the cemetery.

He finally reaches us. He looks at me and doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around me and I wrap my arms around him. I lay my head on his shoulder.

"Thanks for being here." I whisper.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He tells me.

Everyone takes their seats. Koma, some of my family who came from Tameran and I sit in the front. The minister begins talking. I zone out a little and stare at the picture of my mother next to him. Her emerald eyes, jet black hair, beautiful smile. She's perfect.

The minister finishes his talk.

"And now, Lua's daughter Kori would like to say some words." The minister says.

He steps away from the podium and I take his place. My eyes scan everyone in the seats. I feel so nervous, I haven't done this before. My mother was the one who spoke for me at my father's funeral and now she isn't here to help me. I see Rich in the audience and he gives me a reassuring smile.

"My mother was the most beautiful person I knew. She was my sunshine on every stormy day. She was my best friend. She taught me everything I needed to know about life. But there are still some answers I need, and she's not here to answer them. So I'll need to figure it out without her by my side. My mother and I rarely fought. We had a great relationship with each other. When my father died, I counted on her to help me get through it." I take a deep breath. "But how is she going help me get through this? Where am I going to find her when I have a problem and when I'm sad?" I stop talking and look at her picture and her grave. "I'll go here. If I need something, I'll always be here for the help I need." I finally felt my eyes water and my throat is getting chocked up. "But…she won't be at my wedding. My father can't walk me down the aisle and my mother won't be there to see me get married. She won't be there when I have a child of my own. I don't know if I'll be a good mother. Because she won't be there right by side. When I graduate, she won't be there. When I'm growing up, she's not going to be there. My mother will not witness me growing up for her own eyes. Yes, she'll be here in my heart, but I can't see her. And she will never see me. I will never see my mother again. I won't hear her laugh, see her smile, listen to her voice and smell her favorite perfume on her." I felt my tears trail down my cheeks. "But she's still my angel and she's going to look over me. I know her and father will be smiling down on me always." I conclude my speech and leave the podium and go back to my seat.

The minister takes over again. "Now is the time to place flowers on Lua Anders grave."

I see everyone leave their chairs and put numerous flowers on her grave. Each time they do, they look at Koma and I.

I see Rich place my mother's favorite flowers on her grave; white roses. I stare in awe. He remembered her favorite flowers. I told him a while ago. Because this is both mine and my mother's favorite flower and I mentioned my mother loves them too. Richard looks at me after he places the flowers. He smiles at me and goes back to his seat.

After everyone is finished placing flowers, the funeral is finished. Everyone talks me again, telling me how beautiful my speech is. Including my friends. Everyone gives me one last hug and leaves. Soon, the whole cemetery is empty, except for Koma, Rich and I. Koma leaves to wait in the car.

I stare at her grave with many flowers suffocating it. Rich and I were the only ones who put white roses on her grave.

Rich puts his hand on my back. "I know you've heard this already, but your speech really was beautiful."

"Thank you." I say.

"I wish I could have gotten to know your mother better." He tells me.

I blink away my tears. "Me too. She would have really loved you."

I feel Rich staring at me so I look up at him. He gives a small smile.

"But from everything you've told me about her, I love her." He says.

I smile back. Rich pulls me in for hug. I wrap my arms around his neck and he slowly rubs my back.

"You're my best friend. I just want you to know that." Rich whispers in my ear.

My eyes were beaming, even though he couldn't see. I look at Rich now, still surprised, but happy. I put my lips to his soft cheek and kiss it.

"And you are mine." I tell him.

"I never want anything to get in the way of that." He says, still holding me.

"Nothing ever could." I tell him.

I start to feel rain droplets falling, but ignore it.

"I know." He says.

"Than we have nothing to fear." I say.

Rich and I look into each other's eyes for a while, not saying anything. I stare at his lips.

'_What am I thinking?'_

Before anything can happen, the rain falls even harder. I untangle myself from his arms.

"Koma must be waiting." I say hastily.

I walk away from Rich and towards Koma's car.

Rich is only my best friend and he has a girlfriend. I can't let anything happen between us.

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**please review (:**


	15. Something more

**Thank you everyone!((: With the reviews I'm getting, it makes me want to update even more, so here's another chapter.**

**Chapter 15-Something more**

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I finally returned to school. Of course people have been telling me they're sorry and everything, but other than that it's all back to my normal routine. Koma still sees her boyfriend Jamie and he's been really comforting to the both of us. Since Koma is my guardian now, I have not had any rules from her and I really don't bother to ask her permission to do anything. I know she doesn't care.

I'm getting ready for school right now. I take my usual ten minute shower. I pick out a red hoodie, jeans, black toms and curl my hair a little. I still haven't bothered with my makeup. After I get dressed, I start walking downstairs.

"Hi mother." I say.

But I stop walking the steps when I realize what I just did. I have been doing this the whole week, it's driving me crazy. I feel like I _am_ going crazy. I always think how I get to see my mother in the mornings and when I come back from school, but I don't get to anymore and I need to realize that. But I don't want to. I shudder at myself.

Koma drives me to school like always. I get there and the sympathetic looks start to fade away which is relieving. I meet my friends at my locker, but I don't see Rich. They've been acting like their normal selves again as I told them they don't need to say sorry every time they see me.

The whole school day is normal and very boring. Nothing special happens. I eventually see Rich at lunch, but we don't say much. After that, I walk to my 5th period class. I walk past Babs, her group of friends and Richard who is with them. I can hear them laughing at me, except Rich.

I stop walking and give them a confused look. "What's funny?"

"You." Babs says with a smirk.

"Babs-" Rich says sternly.

I raise an eyebrow. "What about me?"

"Look at how freakishly tall you are. Did you get that from your mom or something?" She asks with an evil grin.

I throw my books to the ground and clench my fists. "Don't say anything about my mother."

"Shut up and go cry to your mom." She says cruelly.

I feel my blood boil now and walk towards her. I raise my fist, but Rich grabs it before I can hit her.

"Kori stop!" Rich yells.

I give him an irritated and surprised look. "Did you not hear what she just said?"

"I know, but-" I don't let finish his sentence.

I grab my books and begin walking away from him. Soon, I start running out of the school. It's raining again, so I immediately get soaked from the rain. But I don't care at this point. I had to get out of the school. With everything that just happened, I am so enraged right now. It takes me about 20 minutes to finally get home. Koma's car isn't in the driveway, so she's not around. I go straight to my room and throw my books on the floor. I take off my shoes and hoodie, only wearing a black bandeau and my jeans. I fall onto my bed, lying on my stomach. Tears slowly fall. There hasn't been a day this week where I haven't cried. It's pretty much been a daily routine. I consider getting my razor, but realize Rich threw it out the day he saw me attempt to harm myself.

It's pretty quiet in my room, except the sound of the rain hitting my window. I close my eyes and almost drift to sleep, but my door opens. I feel startled and open my eyes immediately. I see Rich standing at my doorway, dripping wet. I realize that I'm only wearing my bandeau and blush from embarrassment so I hold my small blanket to cover myself. But I start to feel furious again and stand up.

"How did you get in here?" I ask him irritated.

"You left your door unlocked…" He says.

'_Nice one Kori.'_

"Well get out. You don't permission to be here." I say curtly.

"You never let me explain before." He tells me.

"What explanation do I need?" I ask. "You thought it was okay for your stupid girlfriend to say something like that to me after my mother died!"

"I never said it was okay Kori!" He yells back.

"Than why didn't you do anything?" I ask through my tears. "I thought you cared about me."

"I care about you more than anything else." He says softly.

I scoff at him. "Oh really-"

He interrupts me. "I dumped Babs."

My eyes widen. "What?"

"I dumped her. As soon as you left." He says again.

"But-"He interrupts me again.

"She was never a nice person Kori. I didn't want someone like that anymore and what she said to you set me off. So don't say that I don't care." He says firmly.

"You still made me look foolish!" I yell.

I slap his face hard. He bits his lip and looks at me, a little unfazed. I scrunch my eyebrows at him and raise my hand to hit again. Before it hits his face, he grabs my wrist and pushes me against my wall and my blanket drops, exposing myself. I felt embarrassed again. I raised my other hand, but he grabs that wrist too. He has me pinned against the wall. I stare at him and he stares at me. And to my surprise, Rich presses his lips onto mine. I felt my heart immediately leap. I didn't know why this was happening, but I didn't stop him. I returned the kiss. It felt so right. Everything about this kiss was making my blood rush and made my whole spin tingle. Our lips move together and he presses his body against my bare torso. I snake my arms around his neck and let my fingers get tangled in his ebony hair. He wraps his arms around my waist and we stop kissing for a moment. We look at each other, our faces still very close and our lips brushing against each other. Our lips connect again and we fall onto my bed. His knees are on either side of me and his arms are still wrapped around me. Our kiss deepens. I release my fingers from his hair and let them caress his soft face.

I hear the front door open and realize Koma is home. Rich and I stop kissing and look each other, out of breath. We let go of each other and he gets off my bed, leaves my room and shuts the door behind him. I wrap my blanket around me again and stare out my window. Right now, I don't know what's going on anymore.

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**please review!**


	16. Together

**Thanks everyone! Glad you are all liking the story ((:**

**Chapter 16-Together**

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The thudding sound of rain hitting my window wakes me up. My eyes flutter open and I look at my clock. It's about 15 minutes before my alarm goes off for school. Since I'm already awake, I decided to get ready now. I dazedly walk to my bathroom. I turn on the light and it takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. When they do, I don't really like what I see in the mirror. My hair is matted, I have dark circles and my eyes are red. Good thing I didn't wear make-up yesterday. I remove my clothes and step in the shower. The warm water soothes me. My soreness from my accident is starting to fade away and so are my headaches. After I finish my shower I get dressed in my light blue, long sleeve button up blouse, gray jeans, and white flats. I curl my hair a little and put it in a low messy bun.

I walk downstairs to see Koma waiting at the breakfast table for me. I realize I didn't say, "Hi mother." like I usually do. I guess I'm finally accepting it. I skip breakfast, grab my bag and Koma and I leave. As we're driving, I look through my bag to see if I have all my papers and folders. As I'm looking through my folder, I find the article Rich and I have been working on. Today is the day we are supposed to present and I feel a knot in my stomach. The article is fine and finished, but I have no idea how I'm going to be able to present this with him.

I don't see any of my friends at locker, which is strange. But while I'm putting some folders away at my locker, I see Karen walking towards me. I smile at her and she smiles at me.

"Hey Kori." She greets.

"Hey, where is everyone?" I ask her.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. Rachel had to go to the library and the boys went to go get free breakfast in the cafeteria." She tells me.

I nod my head. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" She asks me.

"Rich broke up with Babs." I say.

Karen eyes widen and she has a big grin on her face. "Finally!"

I giggle at her. "But, Rich and I got into a fight yesterday, so I went home. And then he showed up at my house and he apologized and then we…"

Karen raises her brows. "What?"

I clear my throat awkwardly. "We um…made out a little?"

Karen's deep brown eyes widen even more and she's smiling from ear to ear. "Shut up!"

I give her a small smile. "It happened."

Karen squeals and squeezes me. "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"Well um-"I begin.

Karen lets go of me. "Well what?"

"He left right after that happened. I don't really know what's going on with us." I say.

"Well talk to him when you see him." She tells me.

I sigh. "We might need to hold it off. We're supposed to present our article together today."

"Oh right. Speaking of that article, what's it about?" She asks me.

"How a child feels when they lose a parent." I say quietly.

Karen frowns and I felt a small tear escape my eye. Karen pulls me in for a hug.

"I'm sorry Kori." She says kindly.

"Everything happens for a reason." I say simply.

Karen and I pull away and I wipe the tear from my eye.

Karen gives me a small smile. "You're a strong girl Kori Anders."

I smile. "Only because I have friends like you."

"Come on, I'll walk you to class since sparky is too busy chowin' down at the cafeteria." She says with a chuckle.

I laugh and Karen and I walk to my 1st period class.

I meet all of my friends at our lunch table, except for Rich. I haven't seen him all day which really doesn't surprise me. While we're talking and eating, I feel someone's presence next to me. I look up and see Babs standing there, with a furious look on her face.

"Can I help you?" I ask her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Trying to fight me and have Richie dump me?" She says heatedly.

I stand up from my table and notice a lot of eyes are on us now. "Listen, you said something very cruel to me, so of course it's going to make me mad. But don't you blame Rich dumping you on me. I didn't tell him anything okay?"

Bab shoves me. "Yes it is your fault! He told me he loves you!"

My eyes widen and I freeze. "What?"

Babs glares at me hard. "If he never met you…everything would still be the same between us. He would have never fallen in love with you."

My eyes avert to the ground. "I…didn't know anything about that."

"Whatever. He's yours now, slut." Babs shoves past me now and a lot of people have stopped staring at us. Good thing they didn't hear any of that.

I'm still frozen in my position. I turn my head and look at my friends who are staring at me.

"Did you guys know?" I ask them.

They shyly look away from me.

Vic speaks up. "Sorry, he didn't want us to say anything."

I nod my head a little. I grab my bag and leave the cafeteria. As I'm walking through the empty halls, I feel my heart quickening its pace more and more. I feel very overwhelmed with what Babs just told me. I actually feel really bad. I had no idea he felt that way about me. What happened yesterday, I thought it was heat of the moment thing, but it meant more.

I see Rich sitting against his locker. I clear my throat and approach him.

"I just talked to Babs." I say.

He looks up at me. "What?"

"She told me how you felt about me." I tell him.

Rich looks down. "Did she?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him.

He looks at me again. "How could I? I didn't want to ruin this friendship. And this is the worst time to be talking about this. Kori you're going through so much right now. You lost your mother."

"Than why did you kiss me?" I ask him, raising my voice.

Rich stands up and faces me. "I couldn't resist you anymore. And besides, you didn't stop me."

I don't really have any words to say to him, because he's right. I can't prove him wrong.

I look down. "You know we need to present our article today."

"I don't think I'll make it." He says curtly.

I look at him and scrunch my eyebrows. "Rich...I thought this article meant a lot to you."

He nods his head. "I just can't stand being next to you, even right now…knowing that nothing can ever happen with us."

I open my mouth to speak, but close it. I have nothing to say. He walks past me without another word. I don't move an inch. I just don't understand this boy sometimes.

Just like Rich said, he doesn't show up for 7th period. And it's almost time for us to present the article. I feel really nervous about talking about this kind of subject in front of my classmates without him. There's a reason we wrote this article, so we could talk about this together. I look at the empty seats on either side of me. Rich's seat and the one Xavier used to sit in. Ever since that incident with him, he got switched out of the class. I haven't really seen him since.

"Kori? Where is your partner?" My teacher asks me.

"He couldn't make it today." I say.

"Can you present your article by yourself?" He asks me.

I nod my head and walk up the front of the class, holding my paper.

I take a deep breath. "Something that means a lot to me is how a child feels when they lose their parent. The pain and suffering they must go through when they get that phone call…or when a doctor tells them, "I'm sorry, they didn't make it." Having to grow up without your mom or dad or even both of them, is something no child should go through. Of course, it's something we can't prevent. But maybe we should all try to understand how these kids feel. And-"I get interrupted by the door opening.

Everyone looks at the door and we all see Rich. I stare at him and he walks up right next to me.

"Kori and I understand what it's like losing your parents. We're both orphans. I was only 8 when I lost my parents. I didn't know what to do with my life and I didn't know what was going to happen to me. Bruce Wayne adopted to me and I'm very thankful to have been taken care of by a great man. Kori lost her parents at different times. Her father died only two years ago. So she's barely had time to recover from his death. And now her mother just passed away." Rich looks at me. "Kori and I have been relying on each other, because we understand each other's pain. Just like she said before, our parents won't be at our weddings, when we have our own children or watch us grow up into young adults. But we have each other. So what I'm trying to say is, any kid who has lose their parent or even both of them, needs someone to help them get through that pain. I have Kori and she has me. And I plan on opening a charity for orphans in the near future and hopefully, with the help of Kori."

Everyone in the class applauds us, including our teacher. I hand my article over to my teacher.

"Sorry, we didn't exactly plan out our presentation to be that way." I say to him.

My teacher smiles at me. "It was wonderful Kori."

I give him a small smile. Rich and I take our seats.

"Thanks for being here." I whisper to him.

"I couldn't let you do it alone." He whispers back.

I smile at him and turn my attention back to the next partners presenting their article. As I'm listening to them, I feel Rich hold my hand and I hold his.

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**what did you guys think? let me know (:**


	17. Need you now

**50 reviews? Ahh that's so great I hope you all know that I do read every review and all of them make me so happy. I really want to have a career in writing when I'm older, so this helps me a lot. (: I rewrote this chapter a couple times, so that's why I haven't updated for a couple days. ;/ it's the longest chapter so far! and sorry to disappoint, but Rich and Kori aren't together yet. ): I'll save that amazing moment when they get together for later, but you won't have to wait long. (: enjoy & review3**

**Chapter 17-Need you now**

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Rich and I are leaving the school right now. 7th period, the school day and the week is finally over. I felt so relieved getting the presentation over with. I've been so nervous and worried about it all week, especially with everything going on. And Rich almost bailing on me. This has been an extremely demanding and traumatic two weeks. I can't believe everything that has happened to me. Honestly I'm still not as happy, but how can I be? I just lost my mother. But, I have my best friend Rich and my other friends. They know how to make me smile, even in a situation like this.

As Rich and I are walking outside to the parking lot, I notice Koma isn't in her usual spot waiting for me. I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. Within seconds, my phone vibrates. It's a text message from Koma.

"With Jamie right now. Try to get a ride from someone."

I roll my eyes at the message. Of course she tells me this at the very last minute.

Rich notices me being annoyed and asks, "What's wrong?"

"Koma can't pick me up. I have to walk home." I say.

"Kori, it's going to rain soon. I can talk you home." Rich suggests.

"Really?" I ask.

Rich smiles. "Come on."

As were walking to his car, I look through my bag to make sure I have my key and can't find it. I must have left it in my room and Koma isn't home to unlock the door for me.

I groan in frustration. "So I'm locked out of my house too."

Rich chuckles. "Well I guess you're coming over."

"No I can't that's intrusive." I say.

"You're not sitting outside in the rain. Just come home with me." Rich insists.

"Fine." I say.

Rich and I arrive at his extravagant mansion. Everything there is beautiful and mesmerizing; the fountain, the garden, the structure of the mansion, everything. When we get to the front door, we are greeted by an older gentleman.

"Hello Master Grayson." A heavy British accent welcomes.

Rich gives the man a small smile. "Hey Alfred. This is my friend Kori Anders."

I give Alfred a warm smile. "Hi Alfred."

Alfred nods at me. "Hello Miss Anders."

"You can just call me Kori." I say.

"Whatever you prefer Kori." Alfred replies.

I give him another smile and follow Rich inside the mansion. It looks a lot different than the last time I was here. Mostly because, it's not suffocated with people and I barely got a good look of it last time. It's a massive place. Everything about this mansion is amazing, I can't even begin to describe everything thing it has.

Rich leads outside to another garden. I notice the sky looks more gray and gloomy and the air is getting chilly. I feel rain droplets already, so I'm confused on why Rich is taking me outside.

"What are we doing?" I ask him.

"I really want to show you something, before the rain pours in." Rich says with a smile.

He leads me further and further into the garden. He must have every flower and plant on Earth here, it's endless and breathtaking. Rich finally stops walking and I see what he wanted to show me. It's a mural of two people painted on a concrete wall. Below it says "John and Mary Grayson". The mural is his parents.

My eyes are glistening at the mural and I was speechless. It was gorgeous and the sweetest thing. I even start to tear up. Rich looks back at me and smiles.

"Like it?" He asks.

I nod my head. "It's amazing. When did you get this?"

"About three years ago. I come here every day." He replies.

"This was really sweet of you to do." I say with a smile.

He smiles. "I miss them a lot."

"I know you do. They would be so proud of you Rich." I say softly.

Rich walks away from me. "No they wouldn't."

I furrow my eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Right when I finish my sentence, the rain starts pouring in and drenches us within a matter of seconds.

Rich sighs. "We should go inside."

Rich walks ahead of me, completely ignoring my question.

Rich leads me upstairs to his room. He tells me to wait in his room and that he'll get towels. When he leaves, my eyes dart around his room. It's a big room, king size bed, a little couch, dresser and I notice he has a lot of pictures. I take a closer at them. I smile at the pictures of his mother and father. His mother was so beautiful and his father looks just like Rich. I see a picture of Rich when he was a child with his parents. He looks so different.

I hear a knock at the door and turn around. I see Rich at the door way holding towels. He hands me one and I thank him.

As I'm drying off, he asks, "Do you want some clean clothes?"

"Um sure." I answer.

Rich tosses his towel on his bed and looks through his dresser. He pulls out a plain white T-shirt and gray sweatpants. He hands me the clothes.

"I hope these fit." He chuckles. "You can change here. I'll go in the bathroom and change."

Rich grabs a red T-shirt and black sweatpants for himself and goes to his bathroom. I remove my blouse, shoes and jeans. I take my hair down and look in Rich's mirror. It's still curly, but pretty wet and tangled. I take the towel and quickly dry my hair with it. I dry my body with the towel and change into Rich's clothes. They actually fit pretty well.

"Kori? Can I come out?" Rich asks from the bathroom.

"Yes." I reply.

Rich steps out and takes a look at me in his clothes.

"Wow, you look better in my clothes than I do." He says with a wink.

I giggle at him.

I stretch my arms and say, "I'm so exhausted."

"Well you can take a nap in my bed if you want." He says with a smile.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Of course. Go ahead." He says.

I smile at him and crawl into his bed. It's so soft and comfortable, I feel so snuggled in it. Rich jumps into his bed too to annoy me.

"Ugh I was so comfortable until you did that." I whine.

"You'll feel more comfortable with me." Rich says playfully.

Although his comment was dumb, I feel myself blushing just thinking about what he said.

"Why are you blushing?" He asks me with smirk.

I put my hands over my cheeks. "I am not."

Rich grabs my hand and removes it from my face. "Oh really than what's that?"

"I am not blushing!" I yell, but blush even harder. Not helping.

Rich puts his hand on my cheek. "It's okay I make you nervous Kori." He says teasingly.

"No you-"I stop talking. Once my eyes lock onto his alluring blue eyes I'm mesmerized. I don't know how he does that; just by looking at him I can feel my heart going crazy.

Rich's lips part open and he stares at mine. He moves his hand under my chin and picks it up. He moves my face to his. I slowly close my eyes and feel my lips on his. That same sparky feeling I got the last time we kissed comes back. I can feel my blood rushing through my body and I have a tingling sensation at the pit of my stomach. It just feels so unreal. It's too good to be true. The chemistry we have when we kiss is surreal. Our lips move together and I feel him lightly caressing my cheek with his hand. My hands trail down his toned abs. His lips part away from mine. He stares at me and I stare at him.

But I remember how he didn't answer my question earlier so I decide to ask him.

"Why wouldn't your parents be proud of you?" I ask.

He seems a little taken aback by my sudden question, but he reluctantly answers.

"I'm just…not the best I could be." He says.

"How?" I ask him.

He shrugs his shoulders. "I'm sure you've already heard everything about me Kori. The spoiled playboy who makes bad decisions."

I raise my brow. "Like what?"

Rich frowns a little. "I got the name playboy, because I have hooked up with a lot of girls. And honestly, none of those girls really meant anything to me."

"Okay and what else?" I ask.

"I've been rude to people for a long time. Ever since my parents died, I've been so negative about everything. I had hatred towards the world. So I took my anger out on everyone else. Even you." He says.

I get confused. "Me?"

He nods his head. "Remember when I was a jerk to you? But, I couldn't be a jerk to you. You pretty much grew on me." He chuckles.

I smile a little at what he says.

But his smile fades away. "I've also taken some drugs and drank alcohol."

My eyes look down, disappointed. "Oh…but that was a while ago right?"

"Yeah, but I still did it." He says.

"I know." I say.

"You know you don't like what I've done Kori." He says to me.

I look at him. "I know, but that's the past. I don't care about that."

Rich smiles. "You'd be the first."

"What about our friends?" I ask.

Rich shrugs. "They just tolerated me before. I could be a jerk to them sometimes, but I didn't treat them bad."

"Well Rich, I know your parents would be proud, even if you don't think so. You just made mistakes." I say.

Rich smiles again. "Thanks Kori."

I smile sincerely at him.

I honestly don't know mine and Rich's relationship right now. Call it what you want. We may not be boyfriend and girlfriend, but I think the bond and connection we have is greater than any other couple. I don't know how I could have gone from despising him, to falling in love with him. It was never my intentions to fall in love with Rich. I never planned it. But once I got to know this guy, I realized he's the person I need in my life, especially now. And I know that he needs me.

Rich and I don't really say anything. We just lay in his bed together facing each other. But I can't take another moment of being awake. My eyelids feel so heavy right now, I am really drained. I feel my eyes shut and I slowly doze off into sleep.

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	18. When I look at you

**The reviews are amazing like always! And thank you for favoriting/following this story. (:**

**Chapter 18-When I look at you**

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I felt someone breathing lightly on me and my eyes flutter open to see Rich's face in front of mine. He's still peacefully asleep. We're both under his covers, his arm is wrapped around my waist and my arm is sprawled across his chest. I look past him to see the time on his clock.

_1:07 A.M_

I've been asleep for a long time and since I'm awake now, it's hard for me to fall back asleep. I guess Rich fell asleep with me. I lay in his bed for a while not doing anything. I just really can't fall back asleep now.

I stare at Rich's face and study his features. His chiseled jaw, his lips, nose and although his eyes are closed, I can't forget the color of his charming blue eyes. He really is perfect. I put my finger on his nose and trace the bridge of it. I think I startle him a little, because he wrinkles his nose and eyes open. He looks at my finger still on his nose and chuckles.

"Having fun?" He asks. His voice sounds tired still; it's so deep and raspy. I actually think it's really attractive.

I smile. "Definitely."

Rich smiles at me and wraps both of his arms around my torso and brings me closer to him. I hold him and snuggle against him. My face is lying on his shoulder.

I whisper in his ear, "I'm really glad I met you."

"Me too Kori." He says softly.

I move my head to the pillow so that I'm looking at Rich now. He smiles affectionately at me and I can just feel my heart melting at his smile. He puts his hands on my cheeks and brings my face to his. He kisses me tenderly like always. I smile against his lips and continue the kiss. All of ours kisses have been steamy. I think since we've been resisting each other for so long we just finally want to get rid of the tension. Rich rolls on top of me. His kisses trail down my neck which sends chills through my body.

He stops kissing me for a moment and whispers in my ear, "You're beautiful."

I smile at him. "I really want to ask you something, but I don't want this to be too forward."

He lays beside me now.

"Go ahead and ask." He says.

"When I asked you if you loved me and you said yes, did you mean it?" I ask him hesitantly

Rich looks confused. "Why would I lie about that Kori?"

"You wouldn't, but…I don't know. It's hard for me to believe that someone could actually love me." I say.

"But I do." He tells me.

"And yet, we're still friends right?" I ask.

"Well yes, we're friends, but-"I interrupt him.

"But what? Friends don't do this." I say.

Rich stares at me. "I know."

"Is this all you want from me?" I ask him.

"No." He says.

"Than what do you want?" I ask.

"I don't know yet Kori." He tells me.

I furrow my brows. "You're so confusing."

Rich frowns. "Kori I want you, but you never told me how _you_ feel."

"I thought I made it kind of obvious." I say shyly.

Rich smirks. "Well why don't you tell me for yourself?"

I felt my cheeks getting hot. I don't know how to put my feelings into words. Should I tell him I like him or that I actually love him? I don't want to ruin what we have. But he needs to know the truth doesn't he?

"I…I love you Rich. I have for a while, but I really didn't want to tell you." I say.

"Why not?" He asks me.

"Well you had a girlfriend and I didn't think you would feel that way for me." I tell him.

"I wish you would have told me sooner." He says.

My eyes look down.

"Because…I would have asked you to be my girlfriend a lot sooner." Rich says.

I look at him and ask, "Wait what?"

"Will you be my girlfriend Kori?" Rich asks gently.

I should have known where this conversation was going since we have been talking about how we feel about each other. I just didn't think he would actually ask me to be his girlfriend. I've never had a real boyfriend before. So if I'm going to have a boyfriend, it will be him.

I smile sweetly at him. "Yes."

Rich smiles at me. He puts his hand on the back of neck and brings our lips together. Our lips part from each other, but are lightly brushed against each other.

"Finally." He says teasingly.

Rich and I fell asleep again. We were talking about everything. He told me more and more about his past. He opened up to me a lot more, which made me feel special. He told me he's been telling me things he has never told anyone before. And I told him things I never told anyone before. After about an hour or two of talking, we drifted to sleep. I woke up in his arms again, which is an amazing feeling.

"I should get home now. I'm pretty sure Koma is there." I tell him.

Rich gives me a pout. "Do you have to leave?"

"Unfortunately." I say.

Rich groans. "Fine."

I get my things together. My clothes are now dry, so I change back into them and give Rich his clothes back. I throw my hair up in a messy bun and grab my satchel bag. As we walk through his kitchen, I smell pancakes and bacon. I see Alfred cooking.

"Hi Alfred." I greet cheerfully.

"Hello Kori. I've made you and Master Grayson breakfast." He says.

I grin at him. "Wow thank you."

Rich and I sit at his breakfast table. Alfred brings us our plate of blueberry pancakes and bacon with a glass of milk for each of us. As Rich and I are eating, I notice Alfred cleaning alone in the kitchen. He seems a little lonely.

"Alfred why don't you sit with us?" I ask him.

"Oh that's quite alright Kori. I'll leave you be." He says.

"Please Alfred? I don't mind." I say.

Alfred gives me a small smile and sits across from me.

"So how long have you known Rich?" I ask.

"I'd say about 8 years." He says.

"How much has he changed over the years?" I ask him.

Rich groans. "Are you interviewing him or something?"

I giggle and "shush" Rich.

"Well he's matured a lot. He's braver and even more intelligent. I'm very proud of him." Alfred tells me.

I smile. "Have any good stories about him?"

For the duration of breakfast, I talk to Alfred mostly about his life being a butler for Bruce Wayne and his relationship with Rich. He had so many interesting things to tell me and I did learn a lot more about Rich. Although, Rich was little embarrassed about the stories Alfred were telling me, I thought it was cute. And I really like Alfred, he's a pleasant man.

As Rich is driving me home, he says, "Alfred thinks you're lovely."

I smile. "Does he?"

Rich smiles and nods.

"He's a really nice man Rich." I say.

"I know. I just feel bad for him sometimes." Rich says.

"Why?" I ask.

Rich shrugs. "He seems isolated. I mean he's stuck taking care of Bruce and I all the time. He never gets to do anything."

I frown. "We should take him out sometime.

"Really?" Rich asks.

I smile. "Yeah sure."

Rich pulls into my driveway and I see Koma's car there.

"I'll see you Monday." I say.

I being opening the car door to leave, but Rich grabs my arm and pulls me back to him. He kisses me softly and pulls away.

"You were really going to leave without saying goodbye?" He asks with a smirk.

I smile. "My mistake."

I leave Rich's car and as he's pulling out of the driveway, I wave at him and he waves back. It's hard to believe that he's finally my boyfriend.

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**what do you think about Rich and Kori now? (: review3**


	19. Jealousy

**Thank you everyone! Keep reviewing to let me know how the story is going. (:**

**Chapter 19-Jealousy**

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I felt so many butterflies in my stomach just thinking about seeing Rich today. Today, everyone is going to know we're a couple. I feel a little nervous about it. Sure, I've gone of my fair share of dates before back in Tameran, but like I said I've never had a real boyfriend before. I really don't want to mess this up or embarrass myself. Not even our friends know yet, so once they see us, I'm prepared to hear some screams from Karen. Besides all the nervous feelings I have, I feel complete right now. I never thought I would have the chance to be Rich's girlfriend. There are so many girls who chase after him, but he chose me.

I pull my pink V-neck, long sleeve, shirt over my head. Along with my white shorts and silver, glimmering Toms. I must have at least 15 pairs of Toms, they're my favorite shoes. My hair is a little wavy, but I pull it back in pony tail with a few strands of my hair hanging in the front. I grab my leather brown satchel bag and meet Koma downstairs like always and she takes me to school.

I see Rich standing a couple feet away from where Koma drops me off. His hair was messy as always, he's wearing a black fitting shirt and dark jeans. I felt myself weakening at the sight of him already. But I run towards him and jump into his arms. He catches me around my waist and I was a couple feet off the ground. My arms were wrapped around his neck and he had his grip around my waist tightened. He slowly puts me back to the ground, he smiles radiantly at me. I smile back at him and when puts me back on the ground, I don't waste another moment and kiss him.

When we stop, he says, "That was some greeting."

I smile and say, "Let's go."

We walk inside the school, hand in hand. We automatically get stares from everyone. I can already see people whispering and girls give me dirty and envious looks. I ignore them and hold Rich's hand even tighter. I see Karen, Vic, Gar and Rachel waiting for me at locker. They all look at us with wide eyes and huge grins.

"When did this happen?!" Karen asks excitedly.

"Saturday." I say with a small smile.

"May 18th. Remember that day!" Karen says.

I giggle at her.

"Well it's about time." Vic says with smirk and crossing his arms.

I felt myself blush. "Well all we need is for Rachel and Gar to date."

I saw Rachel shyly look at the ground and Gar scratch the back of his neck awkwardly.

"We should get to class." Gar says uncomfortably.

* * *

The class I dread the most, is my math class. The class I have with Babs and she sits right in front of me. I'm sure she knows by now about Rich and I. The whole school does. And I really don't want her bothering me again. Without Rich here, I might actually punch her this time if she says anything rude.

I enter the class room and everyone stares at me. I'm getting used to it by now, because I have been getting looks all day. But it's still annoying. Babs doesn't look at me and I take my seat behind her.

For our class work, we're allowed to work in groups, but I just work alone. Of course Babs has people swarming her. As I'm working on my assignment, I can hear Babs and her friends snickering and looking back at me. It makes me feel uncomfortable, but I try to ignore them.

I hear the bell ring and immediately felt relieved. As I'm gathering my things and start walking past Babs and her friends, I can feel them staring at me.

"Skank." I hear Babs says.

I turn around and look at her. "Leave me alone."

"You're just another one of his whores. Nothing special." She says coldly.

I give her a fake smile. "Just like you right?"

Babs narrows her eyes at me. "Actually what we had was special so you-"

I cut her off. "Had, past tense. It's over now."

"Shut up you bitch." Babs says harshly.

I roll my eyes at her and leave the class. But I know Babs isn't finished with me. She follows me and pushes me against the lockers. We've already got a crowd around us. I stare at Babs in shock.

"What is wrong with you?" I ask angrily.

She glares hard at me. "Stop acting like a smartass. Wouldn't you like to know everything your innocent little boyfriend has done?"

"Babs just stop." I say firmly.

"No really what has he been telling you? That he's just made out with some girls? Has he told you that we had sex?" She says loudly and clearly so that everyone hears.

I furrow my eyebrows. "I don't believe anything you say so just-"

I stop talking when I see Babs walking towards me. I know she's going to hit me. But before she can attack me, I see Xavier push through the crowd and grab Babs. She wiggles and squirms in his arms, but he's got a tight grip on her.

"What the hell are you doing Xavier?!" She yells at him.

"Leave Kori alone!" He says.

"No she's a dumb slut who needs to get taught a lesson!" She says heatedly as she continues to fidget in his arms.

"No she's not just stop!" Xavier yells.

I see the principal and other administrators pushing through the crowd of kids, looking furious and confused.

"What is going on here?" The principal demands to know.

"Sorry sir, but I'm trying to restrain her from hitting Kori." Xavier says.

Babs stops moving and escapes from Xavier arms. She fixes her hair and crosses her arms. The principal looks over at me, than Babs and Xavier.

"All three of you, my office now." He says sternly. "And all of you get to class. Now."

The crowd quickly disappears and we walk with the principal.

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	20. Bitterness

**thank you for the reviews, favoriting, following and reading this story. It means a lot. (:**

**Chapter 20-Bitterness**

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I've been sitting in the office for about an hour. The principal has already talked to me and I explained everything to him. He's talking to Xavier now and Babs is next. Thankfully, she's in another room waiting. I rest my elbow on the arm of the chair and lay my face in my hand. I look at the clock and hear it ticking quietly. I'm completely bored. I don't know why I need to wait here any longer. I hear the principal's door open and see Xavier step out.

"Barbara Gordon." I hear the principal call.

I see Babs walk into the office without looking at me or Xavier and straight into his office. Xavier takes a seat beside me and I shift uncomfortably.

An awkward silence overwhelms the room. We never say anything or look at each other. I haven't seen or talked to him since the sexual harassment incident. But I really am curious as to why he helped me just now.

I look at him and ask, "Why did you help me?"

Xavier looks at me. "I don't want some bitch like Babs hurting you."

"In a normal case like us being friends, I'd understand. But why would you help me after that whole situation with us happened?" I ask again.

Xavier frowns a little. "Kori, I really am sorry about that. I don't know why I did that. I just get so angry sometimes. I really liked you and hate Grayson. So when I saw you guys talking, I got jealous. It drove me crazy, because I wanted you so bad."

I look away from Xavier and straight ahead. I didn't know Xavier actually had feelings for me. I thought he was just being a disgusting pervert, but I guess there's more to it.

"And I still like you. But I heard about you and Dick." Xavier says a little disappointed.

I look down. "Yeah…" I say quietly.

I look at Xavier and he gives me a small smile.

"Don't worry about it Kori. As long as you're happy and he treats you good." He says.

I smile at him. "He does."

Xavier nods. "Good. If he doesn't, I'll have to hurt him."

I chuckle a little.

"But really Kori, if he ever does, you can always talk to me." He says more kindly.

"Thank you Xavier." I say with a smile.

"So can we forget about what happened before?" He asks.

I hesitantly answer, "Sure."

"Great. Well I'm not in trouble with the principal and I'm assuming you aren't either. But I know Babs is getting what she deserves." Xavier tells me.

"Good." I say bitterly.

Xavier puts his hand on my shoulder. "I won't let her hurt you Kori. I won't let _anyone_ hurt you."

I look at Xavier and realize those were the same words Rich told me.

"_I won't let anyone hurt you."_

Rich and Xavier are similar in so many ways. The same facial features, the same body, the same hair. But it's not just their looks, it the personalities too. Both protective and caring, but bitter and cynical. It's almost like they're the same person.

"What happened with you and Rich?" I ask him.

Xavier is obviously surprised at my question. "Um…it's a long story."

I raise my eyebrow at him. "I have time."

Xavier sighs. "We've known each other since 6th grade. We were best friends and he really was like my brother. And he had this girlfriend named Kitten. They dated for a while and she and I had sex. Rich found out, we got into a really big fight. Physically and verbally and we hate each other now."

I frowned and was really upset with what Xavier told me.

"That's sad." I say quietly.

Xavier shrugs. "It's fine. I don't really care."

"You guys are very similar though. It's weird." I say.

Xavier chuckles. "Yeah, I guess. But I'm better looking."

I roll my eyes. "And you're both cocky."

Xavier smirks. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" I ask him.

"Would you be willing to be friends with me?" He asks.

"I don't know…" I say unsure.

"Please?" He asks innocently.

"Alright Xavier." I agree.

Xavier smiles. "Thanks Kori."

I give him a small smile.

The door opens and I see Babs and the principal. Babs leaves the office and the principal looks at Xavier and I.

"Barbara has been suspended for two days and you both are free to go." He says to us.

Xavier and I nod at him and we leave the office.

"Thank goodness." I say relieved.

Xavier chuckles. "Glad she won't be here for a couple days. That'll brighten my week."

I giggle at Xavier and the bell rings for 7th period.

"See you Xavier." I say.

"See you cutie." He says with sly smile and walks away.

I walk to my 7th period and see Rich sitting at his desk looking down and drumming his fingers on desk. I take my seat next to him and he looks at me.

"Are you okay?" He asks worried.

"So you heard what happened?" I ask him.

"Only a little. I tried to go to the office, but they wouldn't let me." Rich says.

"Well Babs was just trying to annoy me, but she almost hit me and um…Xavier stopped her." I say hesitantly.

Rich raises his eyebrow. "Xavier?" He says in disgust.

I nod my head. "Yes."

Richard shakes his head. "Some nerve he has to try to be nice to you right?"

I chuckle nervously. "Oh yeah…"

Rich grabs my hand. "But I'm glad you're okay. I swear if Babs wasn't a girl…"

I stroke Rich's hand with my thumb. "Don't worry about her Rich. She's been suspended."

"Good, but did she say anything that bothered you?" He asks me.

"_Did he tell you that we had sex?"_

I remember Bab's words and cringe a little. I don't know if she was lying and just trying to provoke me or if she was telling the truth. What if they did have sex? I think I would be bitter like her if my boyfriend left me for someone else, knowing we had a very intimate and special relationship. Maybe that's why she's so angry with Rich and me.

Instead of telling Rich what she said, I fake a smile and say, "Nothing at all."

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